Knicks Plan to Interview 4th Coaching Candidate: Report
The New York Knicks have been granted permission to interview New Orleans Pelicans associate head coach James Borrego, ESPN’s senior NBA Shams Charania reports.
Borrego is the fourth known candidate the Knicks will be interviewing for their coaching vacancy after former head coaches Mike Brown, Taylor Jenkins and Minnesota Timberwolves‘ lead assistant Micah Nori.
James Edwards III of The Athletic first reported on the Knicks considering Borrego for the job.
“Jenkins and Brown appear to be the front-runners as of now. However, New York has tossed around the idea of speaking with James Borrego for its vacancy, per league sources. Borrego, a CAA client, is known around the league for his offensive creativity and analytics-forward approach,” Edwards wrote on June 23.
Borrego and Nori previously interviewed for the Phoenix Suns coaching vacancy but did not make the final list. The Suns ultimately hired a first-time coach in former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Jordan Ott, a Michigan alum like the team’s owner Mat Ishbia.
Borrego also interviewed for the Cavaliers coaching vacancy which went to Kenny Atkinson.
The 47-year-old Borrego coached the Charlotte Hornets for four seasons. But he was fired after consecutive play-in tournament exits in 2021 and 2022.
Borrego is a client of Creative Artists Agency, which Knicks president Leon Rose used to head their basketball division.
A Gregg Popovich Disciple
Borrego came from Gregg Popovich’s coaching tree. His NBA coaching career started in San Antonio. He was promoted to become one of Popovich’s assistant coaches after starting as an assistant video coordinator in 2003.
Borrego spent seven seasons with the Spurs before his stops in New Orleans and Orlando. It was with the Magic where he had his first coaching break when he took over from Jacque Vaughn in interim capacity in the middle of the 2014-15 season. The Magic finished the season 10-20 under Borrego. He returned to the Spurs after the season.
It was not until three years later when he finally got his first full-time head coaching job with the Hornets.
Knicks Looking for Collaborative Coach
The Knicks are said to be looking for a collaborative coach after firing Tom Thibodeau, whose rigid ways and misstep in developing their bench last season led to his exit even after guiding them to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years.
Borrego proved he can do that during his time in Charlotte, where he bridged the Kemba Walker-LaMelo Ball eras.
In his final three seasons with the Hornets, the team improved by 10 wins each year, culminating with a 43-39 season before he was let go just a year after he signed a contract extension.
The Hornets have never won more than 27 games in a season since they fired Borrego.
Borrego is known for his modern, fast-paced offense which emphasize on ball movement and spacing. The Hornets had the sixth-best offensive rating during his final season, per Cleaning The Glass. Borrego had the Hornets play with the sixth quickest pace with Ball as the lead guard.
It will be interesting to see how he can innovate a Knicks offense with Jalen Brunson, the exact opposite of Ball, as the lead guard if he gets to interview for the job.
Brunson, a calculated point guard thrives on deliberate basketball and bend the defense on the halfcourt with his craftiness and impeccable footwork.
